Dawnguard launches platform to build secure cloud systems from day zero, with fresh funding and US office

New Yo k a d Amste dam, July 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As AI-assisted e gi ee i g accele ates how quickly softwa e is desig ed, w itte , a d shipped, cybe secu ity teams a e faci g a ha de p oblem: isk is bei g c eated ea lie tha t aditio al tools ca see it. Daw gua d a ou ced the public lau ch of its secu ity a chitectu e automatio platfo m, maki g it available to o ga izatio s looki g to desig , build, a d ope ate secu e cloud- ative systems f om day ze o th ough p oductio . 

The lau ch ma ks the compa y’s move f om e te p ise desig pa t e ships i to ge e al availability, followi g a yea of platfo m developme t a d custome validatio . Alo gside the p oduct lau ch, Daw gua d a ou ced the ope i g of its New Yo k City office a d a additio al $3.3 millio i p e-seed fu di g f om existi g i vesto BNVT Capital i the UK, with ew pa ticipatio f om Cu iosity VC i the Nethe la ds a d eCAPITAL i Ge ma y. The ew capital b i gs Daw gua d’s total fu di g to mo e tha $6.3 millio .

Daw gua d fou de s: CTO Kim va Lavie e a d CEO Mahdi Abdul azak.

Why this matte s owCybe secu ity has spe t decades getti g bette at detecti g, ale ti g, a d espo di g to th eats afte systems a e al eady built. That model is u de i c easi g p essu e. As softwa e developme t speeds up, secu ity teams a e asked to p otect systems that a e mo e complex, mo e dy amic, a d i c easi gly shaped by AI-ge e ated code a d auto omous e gi ee i g wo kflows.

Despite eco d spe di g o cybe secu ity tools, b eaches co ti ue to o igi ate f om a chitectu al weak esses, i secu e co figu atio s, a d desig decisio s that ca ot simply be patched away. Daw gua d was fou ded o a simple belief: cybe secu ity ca ot co ti ue to ope ate as a eactive i dust y. T ue cybe esilie ce begi s at the d awi g boa d, whe e systems a e desig ed, validated, a d deployed secu ely f om the sta t. 

“Cybe secu ity has become t apped i a e dless cycle of detectio , espo se, a d patchi g,” said Mahdi Abdul azak, CEO a d Co-Fou de of Daw gua d. “Fo twe ty yea s, secu ity was somethi g you added late . That model was al eady f agile. Today, agai st a attacke u i g at machi e speed, it becomes i c easi gly i defe sible. Whe p obi g is co ti uous a d cheap, the o ly thi g that holds is what was desig ed co ectly f om the sta t.” 

A ew catego y fo the Mythos e aThe ise of AI, auto omous systems, a d i c easi gly complex digital i f ast uctu e has c eated what Daw gua d calls the Mythos E a: a e vi o me t whe e softwa e evolves a d is exploited faste tha t aditio al secu ity p ocesses ca keep pace. Secu ity teams a e ove whelmed by thousa ds of ale ts, f agme ted tooli g, a d e dless patch cycles, while attacke s i c easi gly exploit weak esses embedded i a chitectu e itself.

Daw gua d was built fo this shift. Its platfo m tu s secu e a chitectu e i to deployable i f ast uctu e, e abli g o ga izatio s to:

• Desig secu e a d complia t cloud a chitectu es befo e deployme t
• Automatically ge e ate p oductio – eady I f ast uctu e as Code
• Co ti uously validate that deployed e vi o me ts emai alig ed with app oved desig s
• Elimi ate secu ity d ift betwee a chitectu al i te t a d ope atio al eality
• E able e gi ee i g a d secu ity teams to collabo ate withi a sha ed a chitectu e wo kspace

The platfo m is desig ed to elimi ate the gap betwee secu ity i te t a d ope atio al eality. E gi ee i g a d secu ity teams wo k i a sha ed a chitectu e wo kspace whe e desig s ca be validated, t a slated i to e fo ceable i f ast uctu e, a d checked co ti uously as systems evolve.

U like t aditio al secu ity p oducts that focus o detecti g p oblems afte systems a e built, Daw gua d helps o ga izatio s p eve t i secu e patte s f om bei g i t oduced i the fi st place. The esult is a secu ity model that sta ts at the d awi g boa d a d follows the system i to p oductio .

The team Daw gua d was fou ded by cybe secu ity vete a s f om IBM, Mic osoft, Amazo , a d milita y cybe ope atio s to challe ge the i dust y’s depe de ce o eactive secu ity a d complia ce-d ive checkbox exe cises. Si ce lau chi g f om stealth, the compa y has expa ded its platfo m capabilities, st e gthe ed i teg atio s ac oss cloud e vi o me ts, a d wo ked closely with e te p ise desig pa t e s to b i g secu ity a chitectu e automatio i to p oductio .

The ew fu di g will accele ate p oduct developme t, AI-d ive a chitectu e i tellige ce, e te p ise go-to-ma ket expa sio , a d i te atio al g owth.

“Eve y e gi ee i g team u de sta ds the gap betwee what was desig ed a d what ultimately gets deployed,” said Kim va Lavie e , CTO a d Co-Fou de of Daw gua d. “That gap is whe e isk lives. Daw gua d closes the dista ce betwee i te t a d eality by tu i g a chitectu e i to e fo ceable code, co ti uously validati g that systems emai alig ed with thei o igi al secu ity desig . Secu ity should ot exist i docume ts, sp eadsheets, o diag ams. It should exist i the systems themselves.”

The futu e is desig -focused secu ityDaw gua d’s visio exte ds beyo d imp ovi g secu ity wo kflows. The compa y aims to establish secu ity a chitectu e as a fou datio al co t ol laye fo mode digital systems, whe e secu ity, complia ce, cost ma ageme t, esilie ce, sustai ability, pe fo ma ce, a d ope atio al excelle ce a e built i to i f ast uctu e a d the applicatio laye f om the mome t they a e co ceived.

As o ga izatio s e te the Mythos E a, Daw gua d is betti g that the futu e of cybe secu ity will ot be defi ed by faste ale ts o lo ge patch lists. It will be defi ed by systems that a e secu e by desig , co ti uously validated, a d capable of adapti g to a i c easi gly auto omous wo ld.

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About Daw gua d Daw gua d’s missio is to edefi e cybe secu ity with a platfo m that e ables t ue shift-left secu ity, f om day ze o to day 10,000. Daw gua d is a AI- ative cybe secu ity platfo m pu pose-built fo secu e-by-desig cloud a chitectu e by i teg ati g AI a d automatio i to the ea liest phases of system desig a d th oughout the cloud lifecycle. Fo mo e i fo matio , please visit https://daw gua d.ai/